The present invention generally relates to devices for temporarily holding a pair of eyeglasses and the like. More particularly, the present relates to eyeglass holders that can be attached to clothing.
Wearers of eyeglasses often desire to temporarily remove the eyeglasses from their face. A recurring problem for such removal is finding a secure place for the eyeglasses that is readily accessible. The prior art has taught means for temporarily holding eyeglasses that are attachable to the clothing or hair of the wearer. While the present invention may be adapted for attachment to the wearer's hair, the most relevant prior art includes the eyeglass holders that can be attached to the wearer's clothing.
Various types of these eyeglass holders have been disclosed in the prior art. In U.S. Pat. No. 305,185 to Hawkes an eyeglass case having clothing fastening means attached thereto is shown. Eyeglass holders that engage the bridge of a pair of eyeglasses are also disclosed in the prior art. Exemplary of this type of eyeglass holder are U.S. Pat. No. 727,204 to Rogers; U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 12,771 to Dripps; U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,080 to Nemser; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,513 to McIntosh. Eyeglass holders substantially formed from wire frame members have also been disclosed in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 171,681 to Meyer discloses a wire frame having paired clamp hooks which engage the lens frames of the eyeglasses. U.S. Pat. No. 730,663 to Jordan discloses an eyeglass holder having a bent hook attached to a hair pin. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,795 to Kosakai an ornamental brooch having a slidably mounted wire frame attached to the rear surface of the brooch and extending downwardly therefrom for receipt of the temples of eyeglasses is shown. A curved wire frame eyeglass holder having end loops that engage the temples of eyeglasses is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,384 to Arnold. A further example of the prior art is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,621 to Pretz where an eyeglass holder having a tubular member pivotally disposed below an ornamental pin for receipt of the temple of eyeglasses is disclosed.
As can be seen from the foregoing, numerous devices have been considered to provide means for temporarily holding a pair of eyeglasses to clothing and the like. However, these devices of the prior art do not provide the advantages of the present invention. For an eyeglass holder to be most effective it must be capable of receiving the eyeglasses with minimal effort by the wearer and it must retain the eyeglasses within the holder in a secure position. Also, it is desirable that the eyeglass holder be inexpensive to manufacture. These requirements are met by the eyeglass holder of the present invention.